Dante Stallworth, drunk driver, killer, free man

[ucatchtrout]

Don't know if any of you have followed the case of Dante Stallworth but my family sure has.

Stallworth was drunk, driving his car and hit a pedestrian who died.

Stallworth immediately took full responsibility and apologized.

An arrangement was made with the prosecutor and the victims family whereby Stallworth will have to do slightly less than a month in jail. A financial settlement was reached with the victims family. Terms were not disclosed. In that state Stallworth could have faced up to twelve years in prision.



Talk shows have been discussing about whether it is fair or not Stallworth and his money were able to get off the hook while you or I would go to the pen for a long time.



Here in Oregon we have measure 11, and it REQUIRES a minimum of six years for this. My wifes nephew was sentenced under this and did six years in the pen for this very same thing. He cried for years about how unfair it was. I never thought so. No matter what the size of Stallworths checkbook, if he'd been in Oregon, he'd go to jail for six years.



But this whole thing brings up some interesting points. My wifes nephew is a turd. And a broke turd. He had no other way of paying for what he did. Stallworth on the other hand, will have to make a sacrifice of another kind. And whatever large sum of money that goes to that family may well indeed enrich their lives and help compensate them for their loss. Maybe children will go to college and they will all have better lives as a result of this. Is that, or is that not better than some guy rotting in jail? Is it more just? Or not? Stallworth as a result of his fortune is in a position to actually make some amends to this family. Some of whom, will maybe end up better off as a result of death of a relative.


I'm glad Stallworths money will help that family. I don't necessarily think he should go to jail for six or twelve years since he has other means of paying for his mistake and that payment will actually help those he hurt.....except the dead guy. But thirty days seems like its not enough time. Mike Vick did more than that for killing dogs.


What do you think?

 

[rocketeer]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4262751

A source told ESPN's Kelly Naqi that while the financial terms of the settlement with the family have not been disclosed, Stallworth was covered by two insurance policies: a car insurance policy and a $5 million umbrella policy.

i'm not sure if stallworth personally is losing any money from this.

as for the jail sentence, i'm surprised it's so short. when i first heard the story, i assumed he was getting a couple of years minimum. i am impressed with the way stallworth handled it, immediately stopping, calling 911, admitting to what happened, submitting to alcohol testing, and taking complete responsibility. i still don't know though. he should have gotten more time i think.

 

[ucatchtrout]

Lotta dough.

So..... If it was your Dad Stallworth ran over and you had your choice of 5 million or more and seeing Stallworth do a month of time, or demanding the prosecutor do his level best to send Stallworth to prison for ten to twelve years what would you do?

Or..... If it was you, what would you want your family to do?

If it was me that got mowed down, I'd want my family to have all that dough. Some guy doing ten years in the pen ain't gonna make things any better for anyone.

 

[Ed O]

Lotta dough.

So..... If it was your Dad Stallworth ran over and you had your choice of 5 million or more and seeing Stallworth do a month of time, or demanding the prosecutor do his level best to send Stallworth to prison for ten to twelve years what would you do?

Or..... If it was you, what would you want your family to do?

If it was me that got mowed down, I'd want my family to have all that dough. Some guy doing ten years in the pen ain't gonna make things any better for anyone.

I agree... I feel dirty thinking/admitting I'd rather have money than see a guy go to prison for a long time, but I know if it were me dying, I'd want my family provided for financially.

One of the issues with our system is that it attempts to balance punishing "bad thoughts" with the acts themselves... getting behind the wheel drunk it not a blameless act, by any means, but that someone dies as the result of it is much less "bad" than if someone premeditatedly and in cold blood kills someone.

Whether acts, rather than intent, should be punished more harshly is a pretty deep phillosophical debate.

Ed O.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I agree... I feel dirty thinking/admitting I'd rather have money than see a guy go to prison for a long time, but I know if it were me dying, I'd want my family provided for financially.

One of the issues with our system is that it attempts to balance punishing "bad thoughts" with the acts themselves... getting behind the wheel drunk it not a blameless act, by any means, but that someone dies as the result of it is much less "bad" than if someone premeditatedly and in cold blood kills someone.

Whether acts, rather than intent, should be punished more harshly is a pretty deep phillosophical debate.

Ed O.

I couldn't disagree more.

The civil aspect can always be accomplished via a lawsuit. But to, literally, buy one's way out of jail just so this behavior can continue is the real crime here. Just like Kobe paying $12,000,000 to pay off a woman he raped, to $5,000,000 to a victim an athlete murders, this to me is unacceptable. I guarantee you he's laughing about this right now.

But I fail to see the humor in it.

 

[hasoos]

I couldn't disagree more.

The civil aspect can always be accomplished via a lawsuit. But to, literally, buy one's way out of jail just so this behavior can continue is the real crime here. Just like Kobe paying $12,000,000 to pay off a woman he raped, to $5,000,000 to a victim an athlete murders, this to me is unacceptable. I guarantee you he's laughing about this right now.

But I fail to see the humor in it.

At the same time, the people don't have to accept the payments and they do. The way I feel about it is, if you can come to an agreement with somebody on how to "make it better" then why shouldn't you be allowed to do so?

 

[julius]

what would have happened had he killed a dog, who he was breeding to fight?

 

[RR7]

Good post, and interesting topic. I'm in agreement with Ed here, and ucatchtrout. Though it might sound dirty right now to say give me the money over the 6 year sentence, one is actually going to help, and one isn't. What is a drunk driver going to learn or be rehabilitated from in 6 years that can't happen in a month? I think our prison system is a pretty messed up system in general, but I don't see the help 6 years is going to do. Less than a month, and it gives him that time to reflect on what he did, etc. Some people blow that off, and don't care. And most likely, those peopel will end up back in jail. They can rot in jail for life, and the people whose lives he affected will not be altered or improved because of it. The financial settlement will, however. As was mentioned, it could send relatives to school, ease financial burdens, basically slightly improve the quality of life after a tragedy.
I highly doubt Stallworth is laughing at all about this.

 

[ucatchtrout]

What is a drunk driver going to learn or be rehabilitated from in 6 years that can't happen in a month?

In the case of my wifes nephew.....not one god damn thing.

Despite all the drug and alcohol counseling and six years in the pen, when he got out he went back to drinking, drugs and whining about how he was victimized by having to do six years.

 

[Nate4Prez]

I couldn't disagree more.

The civil aspect can always be accomplished via a lawsuit. But to, literally, buy one's way out of jail just so this behavior can continue is the real crime here. Just like Kobe paying $12,000,000 to pay off a woman he raped, to $5,000,000 to a victim an athlete murders, this to me is unacceptable. I guarantee you he's laughing about this right now.

But I fail to see the humor in it.

If you think he is laughing about this you have not read or heard anything about this case. He took full responsibility for his actions, yeah his money certainly helped him out, but to think he doesn't have any remorse for ending someones life is just ridiculous. I have to agree with the people here who said the would rather have the money, to know my family would be finiancially taken care of would be my largest concern.

 

[huevonkiller]

I couldn't disagree more.

The civil aspect can always be accomplished via a lawsuit. But to, literally, buy one's way out of jail just so this behavior can continue is the real crime here. Just like Kobe paying $12,000,000 to pay off a woman he raped, to $5,000,000 to a victim an athlete murders, this to me is unacceptable. I guarantee you he's laughing about this right now.

But I fail to see the humor in it.

Stallworth did not get his charges dropped, or have the accuser brag about being with him and admit she lied to detectives in her statement.

Stallworth took responsibility and had a whole different scenario play out with the family of the victim.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

At the same time, the people don't have to accept the payments and they do. The way I feel about it is, if you can come to an agreement with somebody on how to "make it better" then why shouldn't you be allowed to do so?

To me, the two are mutually exclusive.

When a person rapes or murders someone, it's called a crime. Crimes like this have two penalties- criminal and civil. To me, the criminal aspect has to be followed up on or a proper deterent is not set in place. Granted, there are many repeat offenders, but I guarantee you that if the penalty for a serious crime is a simple fine for the wealthy, where's the potential deterent? Trust me, I've worked with incarcerrated vets and the last thing they want to do is go back to prison. The civil aspect may or may not pan out depending on the ability of the offender to deal with restitution.

But here, we're setting up money standards for serious crimes. "Oh, Mr Athlete, let's see, you raped someone and then stole thsir car. That'll be $13,000,000. Next." It turns serious crimes into a sort of traffic court with silly fines. To me, there is no justice there for society as a whole and does noting to discourage others from this sort of behavior. It's a joke.

 

[The Sebastian Express]

To me, the two are mutually exclusive.

When a person rapes or murders someone, it's called a crime. Crimes like this have two penalties- criminal and civil. To me, the criminal aspect has to be followed up on or a proper deterent is not set in place. Granted, there are many repeat offenders, but I guarantee you that if the penalty for a serious crime is a simple fine for the wealthy, where's the potential deterent? Trust me, I've worked with incarcerrated vets and the last thing they want to do is go back to prison. The civil aspect may or may not pan out depending on the ability of the offender to deal with restitution.

But here, we're setting up money standards for serious crimes. "Oh, Mr Athlete, let's see, you raped someone and then stole thsir car. That'll be $13,000,000. Next." It turns serious crimes into a sort of traffic court with silly fines. To me, there is no justice there for society as a whole and does noting to discourage others from this sort of behavior. It's a joke.

Exactly.

When people see criminals who commit crimes like this get off with thirty days because of money or any other circumstance they think it is a joke and it doesn't make them stop and think about drinking and driving.

Drinking and driving is one of the most selfish things a person can do. Not only do you put your own life in danger for serious harm (and causing pain to your own family and friends), but you put at risk innocent people in your path. They should do serious time in the event that they kill someone because they couldn't limit themselves to the amount they drank, nor could they designate a driver or simply take a taxi. It's ridiculous.

We cannot lower the standards for crimes like these as they set a horrible precedent for future cases.

 

[Masbee]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4262751



i'm not sure if stallworth personally is losing any money from this.

as for the jail sentence, i'm surprised it's so short. when i first heard the story, i assumed he was getting a couple of years minimum. i am impressed with the way stallworth handled it, immediately stopping, calling 911, admitting to what happened, submitting to alcohol testing, and taking complete responsibility. i still don't know though. he should have gotten more time i think.

Insurance won't normally pay if you have committed a crime. They have an out clause for that. Any insurance agents know about this? Would an umbrella policy have paid a civil claim related to a felony crime?

 

[DaRizzle]

my friend had a felony dui when he crashed and injured a passenger. He said insurance lost all responibility when it became a felony rather than misdemeanor. This is in CA.

 

[Masbee]

I couldn't disagree more.

The civil aspect can always be accomplished via a lawsuit. But to, literally, buy one's way out of jail just so this behavior can continue is the real crime here. Just like Kobe paying $12,000,000 to pay off a woman he raped, to $5,000,000 to a victim an athlete murders, this to me is unacceptable. I guarantee you he's laughing about this right now.

I guarantee you - He is NOT.

 

[DaRizzle]

^ yeah...he might be a dumbass but he isnt souless.

He is probably crying thanking God that his life isnt over

 

[Masbee]

Exactly.

When people see criminals who commit crimes like this get off with thirty days because of money or any other circumstance they think it is a joke and it doesn't make them stop and think about drinking and driving.

Drinking and driving is one of the most selfish things a person can do. quote]

I don't agree with this statement at all.

 

[bodyman5001]

So, how many people serving hard time in prison for the same damn thing in the same damn state are calling their lawyers to try and get an appeal?

Lookie here yer honor, this Stallworth fella got 30 days in the county jail....hmmmmm

Equal protection...only for rich guys huh?

 

[barfo]

I don't think jail is really the best route for drunk crashers. [driving isn't the problem, crashing is the problem]
If they have lots of money, then payoffs is a good compromise. If they don't, then some sort of community service job would gain a heck of a lot more, and cost a heck of a lot less.

We need to quit putting people in jail for things that they don't need to be locked up for.

barfo

 

[BrianFromWA]

And we need to recommence shooting people in the head instead of letting them watching cable TV and eat free for life.